Early Career Working Hours
The working hours of Elon Musk stretch beyond the traditional 9-5 day. Back in his early days of entrepreneurship, Musk would invest countless hours at his computer, working and tinkering until the early hours of the morning. Although, workdays weren’t always this way; during college, Musk worked “maybe two hours a week” while attending The University of Pennsylvania, but went on to explain that “I just never did any homework”.
At age 23, Musk was already setting up his first software company, Zip2, and launched it in 1995. Zip2 spawned the industry of online city guides and became a success when in 1999 Compaq’s AltaVista purchased it for $307 million. This meant that Musk achieved a $22 million payday when the sale closed.
Following this investment, he invested his innate love for technology and his billions back into startup companies. Investing in both X.com, PayPal, and Tesla Motors, between 1999 and 2003 Musk worked endlessly to keep each project afloat. Looking back, Musk admitted that he had become a little obsessed, claiming “Maybe I worked 12-14 hours a day over the weekend, dropped down to 6 hours a day during the week and maybe not on the weekend again — basically, work all the time with little variation.”
Average working hours in the U.S. according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics sits around 38.9 hours/week — a number that Musk rarely manages to keep. As of 2018, Elon Musk’s weekly working hours were reported to be closer to 100 hours, suggesting that he was working four-and-a-half working days a week. Although, Musk has since reassured that he isn’t working seven days a week; rather he sleeps in Tesla’s factory almost every night, due to his schedule being so tight.
Success and Time Management
It’s not just that Musk believes he needs to work long hours in order for his companies to succeed, he also believes in taking time to relax and recuperate. Evidence of this came in April of 2019, when Musk made an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, and outlined his goals for the year — which involved spending time with his children and smashing his existing work schedule.
Musk has been attempting to cut down his 100-hour workweeks, instead striving to work 80 hours with a greater emphasis on productivity. This is something he referred to as “time boxing”, a method connected to the Agile project management method. Time boxing is a practice in which tasks are assigned a specific amount of time according to their priority; placing deadlines on tasks and having firm breaks in between makes sure every project managed is being completed efficiently.
In the same podcast, Musk also touches on the subject of sleep, claiming he only requires around 6 hours when it comes to catching some shut-eye. According to sleep experts from the National Sleep Foundation, the average person needs between 8–9 hours a night to function normally, however for Musk 6-7hours a night is enough to keep him focused and productive on his projects.
These practices make it easier for Musk to work harder and smarter all at the same time. Musk himself has commented on his own time management, saying “I do think there is a broader lesson, that one should take care about how much one is working, because it does take a toll, both on your physical and your mental health.”
The Cost of Working Long Hours
One negative consequence of maintaining high levels of energy and motivation comes in the way of physical and metabolic stress. Although it may not be evident over short periods of time, the metabolic stress caused by high energy output (working long hours) increases fatty acid metabolism and increases triglyceride levels, which leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.
The body’s natural reaction to stress also causes an increase in cortisol levels, with fatigue, mood swings and irritability being common. Furthermore, longworking hours have been associated with behaviors such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and a general lack of exercise.
Elsie Puig Sauer, a Researcher at the German Institute for Economic Research, suggested that cutting down total working hours to 40-hour weeks could result in a reduction of stress and sleep disturbances, with an increase of social activities that she claims “act as a buffer”.
Musk himself admitted to having long periods of sleep deprivation over short stretches, which might have negatively impacted his mental and physical health. He claims to know when he moves into the “red zone”, where too little sleep has a toll on him.
The Impact on Family Life
Musk’s family have commented on his reliance on work, with his ex-wife Justine Musk once stating: “When he was at work, he lived in the moment and the future, and the present was just something to get through”.
The five-year marriage ended in 2012, after Elon had five children with Justine, in which the couple agreed to joint custody and both parents had the responsibility of caring for and providing for the kids.
In an interview it was revealed that Musk and his parents had limited contact due to his long working hours. Having grown up in an upper middle-class family, Elon has rarely spoken of his parents and his relationship with them. However in a recent interview, which took place in 2016, Elon did mention that he had started to develop a closer bond with the pair.
In the same interview, Musk mentioned his children and how he had set himself the goal of being a better dad to them. However, the hours still remain challenging due to the demands of his work. Musk admitted that he had attempted to reduce his working hours and even left an investment opportunity with Amazon due to his children’s needs.
In 2019, GQ published a magazine feature about Musk in which it was revealed that despite the countless number of hours that he works, he does take time for the kids — attending their basketball games, showing up for the occasional school assembly and helping them with their homework.
The Place of Technology in Time Management
This effort has to be seen in the light of Musk’s love for technology and how it helps him to cut down working hours. For example, Elon mentioned that “Are You Feeling Lucky?” is a website he built to make searching for web domains easier. This project was successful and Musk has been using it since.
In 2018, another example of Elon’s impressive technological solutions was revealed; a custom-made time setting program which utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning. The software is used both to schedule his intense workload and also to pinpoint potential inefficiencies in his current system.
Musk has also been using various other technological solutions to maximize his valuable working hours. This includes a personalised application used to track his very own personal “productivity curve”, to see how their projects are performing in terms of efficiency. This particular habit signified that Musk is actively pushing himself and the companies he works for to be more effective.
The CEO of Tesla Motors also reads two books a week, which normally last 1000 pages each — Musk accomplishes this through speed reading. This reading habit helps to gather knowledge and facts that can be utilized to help Musk stay on top of business decisions.
In short, Elon Musk understands the importance of optimizing working hours and taking regular breaks, both for himself and for his employees.
Questioning Work Hours in the 21st Century
As companies’ operations become increasingly global, the line between work and life can become more blurred. Organizations are taking on a more flexible approach to managing their workforce and allowing people to choose their own working hours. This however, creates further stress as employees may feel pressure to constantly be working at hours outside of the designated full-time job.
Movements such as the 4-day workweek is a way of working that has become increasingly popular in the last few years. In Tim Ferris’s book, The 4-Hour Workweek, the popular figure suggests that working fewer hours can lead to improved performance, with his argument centered around the idea that “less is more”.
Four-day weeks also challenge the concept of stacking hours, where employees feel the pressure to complete tasks outside of the typical workday. This means that one’s work and home life can be happily blended, as managing one’s own time has become a priority.
Interestingly, Elon Musk has suggested a similar approach to time management. Having recently unveiled his CyberTruck, Musk took to Twitter and suggested that Tesla should introduce a five-day workweek. The comment was soon followed by a response from Musk himself, thanking a user for “the good advice”.
So far, the suggestion hasn’t been implemented despite its overwhelming response. However, the fact remains that Musk is now beginning to recognize the importance of taking regular breaks and looking after one’s mental and physical state. After all, no one wants to burn the candle and both ends.
